Budweiser Race Preview
California Speedway

Quote from DALE EARNHARDT JR. / DRIVER, #8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET:

About returning to the Southern California track in Fontana: “I think we’ll do well there again. (Crew chief) Tony (Eury) Jr. found some things last year in our set-ups and we really improved on all of the intermediate (1.5 to 2-miles in length) tracks. We had our career-best finish at that track last fall, and we were better than we ever had been before. We’re going back with our favorite chassis (#039) that we finished second with. We had six top-five finishes in it last year, and seemed like it was a top-10 car every time we rolled it on the track. It’s kind of like going out wearing your favorite jeans and t-shirt… it’s hard to explain, but you just feel better and more relaxed and it makes the girls look prettier and the cold Bud taste better. With this chassis, the whole team knows we’re going to be fast as soon as we roll off the trailer, so everyone seems more confident and focused. It makes that long trip out there seem a lot more worthwhile.”

Any carry-over following the disappointing finish at Daytona (32nd place following a late-race crash)?: “No. We’re ready to go. It’s completely a clean slate. You can’t compare the two. Daytona is like a season of its own, and the superspeedway program is different than the rest of the tracks. So, we’re not going out there feeling like we’re in trouble in the points or worry about being in a big crash at Daytona. That was only the first race, and if we do what we know we can as a team, we’ll be in the top-12 in points when the Chase begins.”

Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at California Speedway:
Previous Starts at California Speedway: 10
Best Start: 6th (Sept. 2006)
Best Finish: 2nd (Sept., 2006)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 18th / FIN: 11th / LED: 1 lap / Dale Jr. passed six cars in the final two laps of the race

Chassis: #039 -- This chassis compiled an impressive list of finishes last season, including six top-five finishes and a streak of eight consecutive top-10 finishes in the races it competed in 2006. The back-up car is chassis #040 – essentially a replica of #039. Both chassis were tested at Las Vegas in late January.

POINTS: Dale Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt are shown in 31st position in the driver and owner’s point standings this week, one position better than their finishing spot in the Daytona 500 due to penalties assessed to another competitor.

Race Details:
Auto Club 500 / California Speedway / Fontana, California
2-mile D-shaped oval / 250 laps / 500 miles
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2006
TV: Fox-TV, 3:00 p.m. ET
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) / Sirius Satellite NASCAR Radio